British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing debut to his career under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a majority decision in a close 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, connecting with powerful clean blows in a match where the styles failed to mesh, with excessive holding disrupting the action.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to secure a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, 31, deserved the win but the contender experienced the second loss of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Earns Victory in Slow Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to realize his potential - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He began cautiously, with the two boxers willing to be aggressive in a calculated early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in two years ago after damaging his hand during the bout, was making just his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had made it competitive, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who operated with a solid defense to edge the cleaner periods.
The crowd's patience wore thin because of regular grabbing, with the challenger going down multiple occasions during close exchanges.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, previous titleholder Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just one round.
The victor advances, but with the likes of hard hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels All-Manchester Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Bradley Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry battle to secure the European light-heavyweight title.
The arena became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial prior to the bout as 10 bells tolled in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since Hatton's passing. As the final chime disappeared, the quiet gave way to a shout of "there's just one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his footing on the eight count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured soon, heavy swelling forming under his eye as the fighters landed powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the pace seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were determined and brave, everything their hero Hatton represented.
